Community Energy in the UK: Part 2

Transcription

1 : Part 2 Final report Undertaken by Databuild Research & Solutions Ltd, supported by the Energy Saving Trust The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Department of Energy & Climate Change (nor do they reflect government policy). January 2014

2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements... 4 Executive summary... 5 Introduction... 5 Methodology... 6 Key findings... 7 Introduction Methodology Community Energy definition Overview of approach and research stages Online survey delivery and response Key limitations Community energy in the UK: scale, profile and geographical distribution Geographical distribution of activity Deprivation of areas in which community energy groups are located Urban/rural distribution of community energy groups Types of energy project being undertaken by community groups Capacity for renewable energy generation Further insight to address evidence gaps Introduction Why do communities engage with energy projects? How have community energy projects of different types and scales been funded? What legal structures are adopted by existing community groups undertaking energy projects in the UK? What factors are most critical in the success of community energy projects?

3 What are the measurable benefits of community energy projects? Plans for the future What are the plans of existing community energy groups to undertake future projects? What challenges (if any) need to be overcome to enable pipeline projects to be implemented? Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions Knowledge gaps and recommendations Appendix A: Methodology Overview of approach and research stages Online survey delivery and response Appendix B: Data sources consulted in compiling the master database

4 Acknowledgements Databuild and the Energy Saving Trust would like to thank the Community Energy Contact Group (CECG) for assisting in the development of the methodology employed in this study and promotion of the online survey. We would also like to extend our thanks to the following networks that agreed to actively promote the online survey on our behalf in order to maximise participation: Carbon Leapfrog Transition Network Low Carbon Communities Network Finally, we would like to thank Community Energy Scotland for mining their databases on our behalf to provide information about all of the completed and pipeline energy projects in Scotland that they are aware of. 4

5 Executive summary Introduction In June 2012, it was announced that the Government would launch a Community Energy Strategy. DECC also published a Call for Evidence on Community Energy in June The Government recognises that community-led energy projects offer a number of potential benefits. However, as the sector is relatively young and rapidly developing, the existing and potential scale of community energy activity in the UK is not well understood. DECC and Consumer Futures therefore commissioned Databuild Research and Solutions Ltd (Databuild) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) in March 2013 to undertake research to supplement the Call for Evidence, helping to ensure the Strategy (published alongside this report) is underpinned by a strong evidence base. The overarching objectives of the study were to: Review existing evidence regarding the delivery and impact of community energy projects to draw out knowledge on barriers and opportunities and identify evidence gaps Conduct primary and secondary research to establish the scale of community energy activity in the UK. The study was also required to gather supplementary evidence to answer research questions identified by DECC, Consumer Futures, the project steering group and the Community Energy Contact Group (CECG) as being important to inform the Strategy. 1 See (last accessed 01/11/2013) 5

6 Methodology Community Energy was defined for the purpose of the study as any UK energy project that was completed, commenced or considered in the last five years (i.e. since 2008) and led or partially owned by a community group 2. The definitions of energy project and community group adopted in this study were as follows: Energy project any project involving collective action to buy, manage, save or generate energy. Community any citizen group or third sector body. To meet the criteria for the study the community group must be either: o Responsible and/or accountable for the delivery of an energy project in the UK; or o Intending to take responsibility for the delivery of an energy project in the UK in future. The first phase of research comprised a review of the existing evidence base relating to community energy in the UK. A report was produced to summarise the findings from the first phase of the research and this was published alongside DECC s Call for Evidence to inform the Community Energy Strategy 3. This report details the key results from the second phase of research, which consisted of the following key activities: Building a master database of community groups in the UK that have undertaken, are undertaking or have expressed interest in undertaking community energy projects over the last five years (i.e. since 2008). This involved drawing together and deduplicating seventeen separate existing data sources that identified community groups with interest or involvement in the community energy sector in the UK 4. Qualitative work to validate the master database. This included consulting with individuals nominated by the project steering group in three specific geographic areas of the country to explore the extent to which the master database accounted for existing community energy project activity known to the contact for each area. An online survey completed by 177 community groups and energy professionals that have undertaken, are undertaking or are interested in undertaking community energy projects in the UK. The key findings from the second phase of the study are summarised in the next section. 2 i.e. joint ventures partially owned by a community group were included in the study. 3 The interim report following the completion of the first phase of this research study can be found here: _the_evidence.pdf (last accessed 14th October 2013) 4 A list of the sources consulted in compiling the master database can be found in Appendix B of this report. 6

7 Key findings Scale and geographic distribution of community energy activity At least 5,000 community groups have considered, commenced and/or completed energy projects in the UK since It is not possible to quantify the number of community groups that are currently active in the sector, but the available evidence suggests that a substantial number of new community groups have entered the sector in the last three years. Whilst community groups are undertaking energy projects across all parts of the UK, activity appears to be particularly prevalent in Scotland and South West England. Similarly, although the majority of groups are based in urban areas, the prevalence of activity in rural areas is greater than would be expected given the relative number of people living in rural as compared to urban areas. The available evidence suggests the number of community groups in areas of high deprivation is similar to the number in areas of low deprivation, although there is some variation in the types of project being undertaken. The number of community groups solely undertaking projects to raise awareness of opportunities to improve energy efficiency appears to be higher in deprived areas than in areas of low deprivation. Renewable energy generation capacity From the work undertaken in this study it is known that there is at least 49 megawatts (MW) of community renewable energy generation capacity in the UK. This is predominantly made up of a small number of large scale wind turbine projects. The total capacity is likely to be higher than 49MW, however, as capacity data were not available for a number of renewable energy projects identified in compiling the master database 5. If all of the renewables projects identified in this research, where capacity data were obtained, were to go ahead, there would be opportunity to grow installed capacity to 433MW. There is limited evidence available to draw conclusions about the precise scale and impact of other types of project activity (e.g. awareness raising, promotion of energy efficiency measures). 5 A recent study reports that there is 59MW of installed and operational community energy capacity in the UK. See The Community Renewables Economy: Starting up, scaling up and spinning out. Jelte Harnmeijer, Matthew Parsons, and Caroline Julian. ResPublica Green Paper, September This figure (59MW) has not been validated or integrated with the analysis conducted in this study as the publication was not available at the time the master database and capacity data were compiled. 7

8 Why community groups and their facilitators become involved in energy projects Based on responses to the online survey, addressing climate change / reducing carbon emissions is the most important factor motivating community groups to become involved in community energy projects, followed by reducing energy bills and community income generation. The top three goals that respondent community groups reported for the projects themselves are to: Improve the sustainability/self-sufficiency of the community Promote energy efficiency/renewable energy generation Reduce the amount of energy used by the community and/or their carbon footprint. Evidence from the online survey suggests that many of those responsible for driving projects involving renewables or large scale energy efficiency projects are from managerial, administrative and professional occupations (e.g. engineers, architects, environmental and other professionals, some of whom are retired). The commitment of organisers and volunteers is seen as the most important enabling factor in groups deciding to become involved in community energy projects. This suggests that personal motivation is a fundamental driving force in the development of community energy projects. Committed organisers and volunteers are particularly important to small community groups. Funding of community energy projects Evidence from the online survey indicates that recent community activity has drawn less extensively on grant funding in on-going projects. Furthermore, those planning future projects anticipate being less reliant on grant funding, drawing more heavily on alternative sources of funding including private/public sector loans and share offers. Community groups undertaking projects involving renewables are more likely than those working on other projects to access non-grant funding (e.g. share and debt offers, and Feed-in Tariffs). Community groups undertaking or considering projects excluding renewable energy are more likely to have accessed grant funding. These groups also access charitable funding more often than groups involved with projects that include renewable energy generation. Legal structures adopted by community energy groups Community groups undertaking energy projects in the UK have a diverse range of legal structures. Evidence from the online survey suggests the profile of the community energy sector has evolved considerably in recent years. A substantial number of Community Interest Companies, Industrial and Provident Societies, Community Benefit Societies and Co-operatives have been registered in the last three years. 8

9 Critical success factors Based on data collected from the online survey, the most critical factors affecting the feasibility and success of community energy projects are securing funding (46%), support from local community / members (37%), co-operation of/support from other organisations (30%), and government policy (e.g. Feed-in Tariffs) (27%). Impact and cost effectiveness The limited available data on community energy projects mean it is difficult to produce a robust assessment of the impact and cost effectiveness of community energy activity in the UK. This is because most community groups do not monitor the impact of their activity, and the information that currently exists has been developed using a variety of different methodologies. Furthermore, the data collected usually relates to the direct and immediate impacts of projects rather than wider and longer-term benefits across the participating communities. The available evidence suggests that cost effectiveness is likely to vary widely for any future schemes due to the type of project undertaken, capacity and experience of the groups involved, delivery model and local factors such as support from local authorities and demographics of the area. Future activity From the work undertaken in this study it is known that there are at least 347 energy projects in delivery or in the pipeline 6. The actual number of projects is likely to be higher due to the limitations of the master database. The findings of the online survey suggest that a significant number of the projects currently under consideration or being planned are renewable energy projects (solar PV / wind / hydroelectric). A smaller proportion relate to energy efficiency and behaviour change. The majority of these projects are expected to commence by the end of A large proportion of those in the process of planning new projects are still in the process of overcoming challenges that could affect their scale, scope and/or timescale. Nevertheless, the majority (approximately two thirds) of community groups are confident that they will be able to overcome some or all of the challenges without altering their project design. Recommendations On the basis of the findings of this study it is recommended that funders of community energy projects: Undertake or encourage more in-depth studies of process and impacts of community energy projects at the project level 7. For example, it would be beneficial to evaluate project impacts and benefits at different stages of community group development. Explore whether and how community energy projects that are not covered well in the evidence base might be evaluated. It is likely that bespoke primary research will 6 i.e. Projects currently under consideration or still in the planning stage. 7 Many of the studies reviewed in phase 1 of the research only reported aggregate figures, providing limited insight into the process and impact of particular types of project. Some information is available in the form of case studies, but it is difficult to conclude whether the process and impacts of these energy projects is typical/representative. 9

10 be required to fill evidence gaps relating to particular types of community energy project, such as collective switching and purchasing. It is also recommended that an evaluation framework for community energy projects is established. Such a framework need not be onerous for the community groups to implement. For example, the Community Action Group Impact Model Framework adopted in Oxfordshire offers opportunity for community groups to produce impact estimates (including energy savings and carbon emissions reductions) for awareness raising and energy efficiency activities. This is achieved using activity data (e.g. number of households approached, small scale follow-up to estimate percentage taking action and type of action) 8. This could be further developed to support the overall evaluation framework. If those undertaking community energy projects across the UK were to adopt a consistent approach to evaluating the impact of their activity it would allow more robust conclusions to be drawn about the resulting benefits and cost effectiveness. 8 See 10

11 Introduction The Coalition Government s programme for government (published in May 2010) made a pledge to encourage community-owned renewable energy schemes where local people benefit from the power produced. In June 2012, it was announced that the Government would launch a Community Energy Strategy. DECC also published a Call for Evidence on Community Energy in June The Government recognises that community-led energy projects offer a number of potential benefits. However, as the sector is relatively young and rapidly developing, the existing and potential scale of community energy activity in the UK is not well understood. DECC and Consumer Futures therefore commissioned Databuild Research and Solutions Ltd (Databuild) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) in March 2013 to undertake research to supplement the Call for Evidence, helping to ensure the Strategy (published alongside this report) is underpinned by a strong evidence base. The overarching objectives of the study were to: Review existing evidence regarding the delivery and impact of community energy projects to draw out knowledge on barriers and opportunities and identify evidence gaps 9 Conduct primary and secondary research to establish the scale of community energy activity in the UK. The study was also required to gather supplementary evidence to answer research questions identified by DECC, Consumer Futures and the project steering group as being important to inform the Strategy. This report details the key findings from the second phase of the research and outlines the conclusions and recommendations of the study. 9 The interim report covering this objective (i.e. the review of existing evidence) was produced following the completion of the first phase of this research and can be found here: _the_evidence.pdf (last accessed 14th October 2013) 11

12 Methodology This section provides a summary of the methodology adopted in this study. A more detailed account of the methodology can be found in Appendix A of this report. Community Energy definition Community Energy was defined for the purpose of the study as any UK energy project that was completed, commenced or considered in the last five years (i.e. since 2008) and led or partially owned by a community group 10. The definitions of energy project and community group can be found in Figure 1: Figure 1: Definitions used in the research Term Energy project Community group Definition used in the research Any project involving collective action to buy, manage, save or generate energy Any citizen group or third sector body. To meet the criteria for the study the community group must be either: Responsible and/or accountable for the delivery of an energy project in the UK; or Intending to take responsibility for the delivery of an energy project in the UK in future. In consultation with the project steering group it was agreed that community energy projects completed prior to 2008 should be excluded from the study on the basis that they would not be typical of current activity was chosen to provide an opportunity to understand where and how the sector had changed in recent years in light of developments such as the introduction of the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) in i.e. Joint ventures partially owned by a community group were included in the study. 12

13 Overview of approach and research stages The project comprised three phases of research and analysis: Phase 1: A review of existing evidence relating to community energy in the UK 11 Phase 2: Research to explore the scale of community energy project activity in the UK and gather supplementary evidence to inform the Strategy The second phase of research consisted of the following key activities: o Building a master database of community groups in the UK that have undertaken, are undertaking or have expressed interest in undertaking community energy projects over the last five years (i.e. since 2008). o Qualitative work to understand and validate the coverage of the master database. o An online survey of community groups and energy professionals that have undertaken, are undertaking or are interested in undertaking community energy projects in the UK. Phase 3: Analysis and reporting The third phase of the project included the following activities: o Analysing the master database and data from the online survey and developing a report to summarise the findings from phase 2 (this report). o Mapping the scale, type and geographical distribution of community energy project activity in the UK, covering all community groups identified in developing the master database or responding to the online survey. Online survey delivery and response The online survey comprised two components: 1. An online questionnaire to be completed by all respondents to capture information about their community group and insight to inform responses to the research questions described above (e.g. reasons for becoming involved in community energy) 2. A separate spreadsheet template for completion by those involved in undertaking or considering multiple community energy projects to provide detailed information about 11 The interim report following the completion of the first phase of this research study was published alongside the Call for Evidence on Community Energy in June 2013 and can be found here: _the_evidence.pdf (last accessed 14th October 2013) 13

14 specific projects (e.g. type of project, funding arrangements, anything that is known about the impact of the project) 12. In total, 157 full responses were received from community groups and energy professionals to the questions included in the online survey. This comprised 94 responses from community group representatives, 16 from energy professionals and 47 from individuals stating that they were both (i.e. energy professionals that are also community group representatives). A further 20 respondents completed enough questions to provide understanding of the profile of the community group or energy professional responding to the survey and whether they had undertaken any energy projects. These 20 respondents did not provide full details of their projects, but it was decided to include these responses to ensure that all of the available evidence was used to draw conclusions about the profile of active community groups 13. Out of 123 respondents who indicated they had undertaken multiple projects, 29 agreed to complete a spreadsheet, as described above. Further details about the delivery and administration of the online survey can be found in Appendix A of this report. Key limitations Due to the sheer diversity, nature and scale of community energy in the UK 14 it is not possible to be certain that the information presented in this report provides a comprehensive account of community energy activity in the UK. The following steps have been taken to ensure that the results presented in this report are as representative as possible: 1. Consulting sector experts in particular geographic areas of the country to validate the coverage of the master database in respect of community groups involved in energy projects over the last five years 2. Using evidence from the online survey to consider what kinds of activity / community group might be missing from the master database 3. Comparing the profile of community groups responding to the online survey with that of those found in the master database to gain some insight into the types of activity / community group that may not be represented in the online survey responses 4. Drawing in secondary evidence (e.g. the number of Industrial and Provident Societies (IPSs) with an interest in energy projects according to Financial Conduct Authority s 12 It was considered in review with representatives from the Community Energy Contact Group that it would be too cumbersome for community groups to provide detailed information about their projects via an online questionnaire. Requiring community groups to provide this level of detail in the online survey would likely have led to a high level of dropout and nonresponse to other research questions (e.g. reasons for becoming involved in community energy). 13 Excluding these survey responses would introduce bias in reporting on the overall profile of community groups. It was confirmed prior to the analysis that the 20 partially completed survey responses were from groups that did not feature in the 157 completed interviews. 14 e.g. small groups, some with no legal status; groups existing for small lengths of time and community energy being only part of the work of some groups. 14

15 Mutuals Register, Community Shares Unit & Coops UK) to provide some insight into the current level of activity. The following conclusions have been drawn from this analysis: 1. The master database provides a good account of significant historic activity, but offers limited insight into more recent activity. A number of community groups responding to the online survey that had yet to complete an energy project or were just in the process of planning or implementing their project were not found in the master database. 2. The online survey responses are considered to be representative of the views and behaviours of community groups that are: a. Currently active in the community energy sector; and b. Have undertaken or are at least considering projects that go beyond small scale awareness raising activities / promotion of measures to improve energy efficiency 15. This project is among the first attempts to produce a more comprehensive account of community energy project activity in the UK than was previously available 16. Inevitably therefore, a number of knowledge gaps still remain. The key knowledge gaps and recommendations for addressing them in future work are discussed in the Conclusions and Recommendations section of this report. 15 Comparison with the master database suggests that there may have been a tendency for larger, more established groups with more significant energy projects to be more likely to respond to the survey. Furthermore, certain types of organisation identified in compiling the master database as being interested or actively involved in the Community Energy Sector do not feature as respondents to the online survey (e.g. faith groups). 16 This work is one of a number of recent studies that have sought to provide more comprehensive insight into community energy project activity in the UK. For example, some of the research questions covered in this study have been examined in work undertaken by the Community Innovation for Sustainable Energy (CISE) project, University of Sussex / University of East Anglia. 15

16 Community energy in the UK: scale, profile and geographical distribution Summary At least 5,000 community groups have considered, commenced and/or completed energy projects in the UK since There is insufficient evidence to quantify precisely how many community groups are currently active in the sector or precisely how the sector has evolved over time. However: All of the groups identified in the study were actively interested or involved in the community energy sector at some point since The available evidence suggests that a substantial number of new community groups have entered the sector in the last three years. Whilst community groups are undertaking energy projects across all parts of the UK, activity appears to be particularly prevalent in Scotland and South West England. The number of community groups in areas of high deprivation is similar to the number in areas of low deprivation, although there is some variation in the types of project being undertaken: The number of community groups solely undertaking projects to raise awareness of opportunities to improve energy efficiency appears to be higher in deprived areas than in areas of low deprivation There is a higher prevalence of community groups solely promoting energy efficiency measures in the most and least deprived areas of the country than in areas of medium deprivation Groups undertaking renewable energy or multi-faceted projects appear to be more evenly dispersed across the quintiles of deprivation. Whilst the majority of community groups are found in urban areas, the prevalence of community groups planning/undertaking energy projects in rural areas (41%) is high when compared to the distribution of the UK resident population. For example, approximately 18% of the resident population in England reside in rural areas. 16

17 It is challenging to produce an accurate estimate of the current scale of community energy activity in the UK for the following reasons: The sector is relatively new. As a result, the existing evidence base regarding the number and type of energy projects being undertaken in the UK is limited when compared to more established activities promoting collective action to buy, manage, save or generate energy. The sector comprises a diverse range of activity, from small scale awareness raising projects to large scale renewable energy generation projects. This means that much of the evidence that does exist often relates to a particular subset of community energy projects, with a particular emphasis in the existing evidence base on renewable electricity generation projects 17. Small scale activities are not well represented, not least because any community group could decide to undertake a small scale energy project without registering or promoting the project. The type of information and level of detail also varies considerably for different subsets of community energy activity. The sector is rapidly evolving 18. This means that the evidence that does exist for subsets of community energy activity, which may provide a strong account of historic activity, does not always reflect recent developments in the sector (e.g. new types of project, community group, approaches to raising finance etc). It is also not always clear whether planned activities come to fruition or whether community groups known to have undertaken an energy project in the past are still active in the sector. The approach adopted in this project to examine the scale and geographic spread of community energy activity in the UK was to: Assimilate data sources identified in the course of the study that provided insight into community groups in the UK that have been involved or at least interested in undertaking one or more community energy projects since 2008, synthesising the data into a single master database. Conduct primary research to gain insight into the profile of current activity in the community energy sector and better understand the type of activity that may not be covered by the existing evidence base. Through desk research undertaken during the course of this study and consultation with representatives from the community energy sector, seventeen data sources 19 have been identified that could be used to identify community groups with interest or involvement in the community energy sector in the UK. 17 Where there are often funder requirements for monitoring data and the direct impacts of the project are easier to measure in general when compared to the impact of other types of project (e.g. awareness raising activities). 18 A large number of those responding to the survey had formed in the last three years. 19 A list of the sources consulted can be found in Appendix B. 17

18 In reviewing these sources, just under 5,000 unique community groups that had been involved or interested in undertaking community energy projects since 2008 were identified. Figure 2 illustrates a simplified account of overlaps between main data sources consulted in compiling the master database of community energy activity. The diagram represents around 95% of all community groups in the master database (4,706 community groups). 241 groups identified in compiling the master database 20 have been excluded from the diagram due to the large number of permutations of overlap and complexity their inclusion would introduce. This comprises: 84 additional groups that were present in two or more of the data sources illustrated in the diagram but where the overlap could not be easily presented in the diagram 157 additional groups from the following sources: Groups identified through desk research undertaken during the first phase of this study (80 groups) The Local United database (21 groups) The Ynni'r Fro database (19 groups) The Renew Wales database (15 groups) The British gas - green streets database (14 groups) The BIG Lottery Communities Living Sustainably database (8 groups) 20 The final master database of community groups incorporates community groups identified in responses to the online survey that did not appear in the master database (79 groups); these are also not included in the diagram. 18

19 Figure 2: Primary data sources used in the study and simplified illustration of number of community groups identified and significant overlaps* The diagram accounts for approximately 95% of records included in the master database (N=4,706)** * 84 groups appearing in at least two of the databases sources illustrated below have been excluded from the diagram for simplicity as there are too many unique / small scale permutations to include all of the overlaps ** 157 further groups were identified from sources not included in the diagram Community Sustainable Energy Program Community Energy Scotland (website case studies) Western Power Distribution Community Chest Community Energy Scotland database Energy Saving Trust Green Communities , Challenging Lock-in through Urban Energy Systems (CLUES) 120 Transition Network Carbon Leapfrog Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) Scottish Climate Action Fund Communities Sustainable Community Energy Network (SCENE) 19

20 As no single source identified in the course of the study provides a comprehensive account of the sector 21, the under / over representation in the master database of particular types of community group and types of project is difficult to pinpoint. However, the available evidence suggests that: a. The master database provides good coverage of significant, historic activity: The vast majority of groups identified through the online survey that had completed energy projects between 2008 and 2011 were found in the master database Local experts nominated by the project steering group in the three geographic areas where the master database was validated confirmed that the file included all groups known by them to be active in the community energy sector. b. The master database under-represents recent and pipeline activity substantially: 79 of the 188 unique community groups identified in the online survey (42%) were not listed in the master database. The majority of these 79 groups had either yet to commence a project or had not completed their first project prior to 2011: 26 were groups that were considering but had yet to undertake an energy project, 15 had commenced a project, but their community group had only recently been formed (2012 or 2013) 18 groups formed between 2008 and 2011 had commenced, but had yet to complete their first project The remaining 20 groups were established prior to 2008 and had completed at least one project prior to From the work undertaken in this study it can be concluded that: 1. At least 5,000 community groups have considered, commenced and/or completed energy projects in the UK since More than 4,900 unique groups were identified in the master database that had considered, commenced and/or completed an energy project of some kind since 2008, plus an additional 79 groups in the online survey. 2. A substantial number of new community groups have entered the sector in the last three years 22. Of the 5,000 community groups identified in this study, project commencement dates are known for only a small proportion (approximately 10%) of community groups. However: 21 Work undertaken in the CISE project has attempted to provide a more comprehensive account of the sector than was available from previous evidence, but it is difficult to draw conclusions about its coverage of the population. See A thousand flowers blooming? An examination of community energy in the UK. Gill Seyfang, Jung Jin Park, Adrian Smith. Energy Policy. October Other sources provide good coverage for particular subsets of activity (e.g. renewable energy projects), but the evidence base appears to be lacking in its coverage of other activities. For example, evidence from the Green Communities database suggests there are a large number of groups undertaking small scale energy efficiency and awareness raising projects. Current projects of this nature are not well accounted for in the evidence base. 22 It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the number of new groups entering the sector in the last three years from the available data; however, 73 of the 182 respondents to the online survey completing the questions regarding legal status and year of establishment were established since

21 a. More than two fifths of community groups responding to the online survey were established in or after 2010 (as illustrated in Figure 3). b. From Community Shares Unit data it is known that around 80% of the 150 Industrial and Provident Societies (IPSs) in the UK with a renewable energy focus were registered in the last three years 23. Figure 3 Year of community group establishment from online survey responses (n=177) 2012 or 2013, 17% Pre-1990, 8% 1990 to 1999, 8% 2010 or 2011, 25% 2000 to 2004, 10% 2005 to 2007, 13% 2008 or 2009, 19% It is not possible to ascertain how many community groups are currently active in the sector because: Limited resources: There was insufficient scope within the timescale and available resources for this research to validate the current status of a large proportion of groups identified in compiling the master database. What is known is that more than half of the community groups identified in compiling the master database were solely found in the Energy Saving Trust Green Communities database (57% of all groups, 2,831 groups) which was last subjected to a detailed review in It is likely that some of these groups and groups found on other databases used in compiling the master database may no longer be active in the community energy sector. The sector is rapidly evolving: The findings of the online survey confirm that the master database does not account well for relatively recent developments and new entrants to the community energy sector, but the online survey sample is too small to estimate the size of the sector that is currently active. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that, prior to this study being commissioned, the existing evidence base provided a disparate set of snapshots of subsets of community energy project activity in the UK. This study is among the first that has attempted to draw together all of these snapshots to provide insight into the overall scale of the full range of community energy activity in the UK over the last five years. 23 Based on data from the Community Shares Unit, FCA Mutuals Register & Coops UK 21

22 Geographical distribution of activity Although community groups are undertaking energy projects across all parts of the UK, a larger proportion of community groups identified in this study were based in Scotland and South West England than would be expected given the distribution of the UK resident population. The geographical distribution of other community groups identified in this study is generally broadly in line with that of the UK population. Figure 4 illustrates the proportion of community groups identified in this study as considering, commencing or completing energy projects in the UK since 2008 that are located in each nation of the UK / Government Office Region in England compared to the distribution of the UK population from the 2011 Census. Figure 4 Distribution of community energy groups compared with UK population distribution 24 South East London North West East of England West Midlands Scotland South West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands Wales North East Northern Ireland 14% 10% 13% 9% 11% 9% 9% 6% 9% 7% 8% 19% 8% 15% 8% 5% 7% 6% 5% 7% 4% 4% 3% 1% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% UK Population (N=63,181,775) Population of Community groups (n=3658) The prevalence of activity in Scotland might be explained in part by investment in the sector. For example, community groups in Scotland have had access to funding through programmes such as the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) and Centre for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES) for a number of years. Such programmes provide funding for groups to conduct and record energy project activity. Analysis presented later in this section regarding the frequency of community group activity in rural areas may account in part for the prevalence of activity in South West England. This may also be explained by the fact that a number of organisations supporting community energy are based in the South West (e.g. the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE)). Figure 5 overleaf provides a map to illustrate the scale and geographical distribution of the community energy project activity identified during the course of this study. 24 Postcode data were not available for all records in the master database, so some caution is required in drawing conclusions about the precise extent to which community group activity is more prevalent in Scotland and South West England. However, the over-representation of Scotland and the South West from the available data are marked, so it is possible to be confident in drawing the conclusion that there has been more activity than would be expected in these areas since 2008 given the distribution of the UK population. 22

23 Figure 5: Map illustrating all community groups identified in this study that have been active in the UK community energy sector since

24 Deprivation of areas in which community energy groups are located Further analysis of the geographical distribution of projects in England 25 suggests that the scale of community energy activity, in terms of number of groups, is similar from the most deprived areas of the country to the least deprived. England is divided for statistical purposes into 32,482 areas each having roughly the same number of people. These are known as Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs). The English indices of deprivation identify the most and least deprived LSOAs across the country. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) combines a number of indicators, chosen to cover a range of economic, social and housing issues, into a single deprivation score for each area in England. This enables all LSOAs to be ranked from the most deprived to the least deprived for the purpose of statistical analysis. LSOAs can be grouped into quintiles according to their ranking (i.e. splitting the population of LSOAs into five groups, grouping the 20% that are most deprived followed by the next 20% and so on to the 20% that are least deprived). If community groups involved in the community energy sector are equally likely to be found in a particular area of England regardless of its level of deprivation, one would expect to find approximately 20% of community groups identified in this study to be found in each quintile of the IMD across England. As illustrated in Figure 6 below, this was broadly found to be the case for community groups in England for which it was possible to identify the LSOA in which the community group was based (n=2,627) 26. Figure 6: Percentage of community groups in England undertaking located in each quintile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (n=2,627) The reader should note that this analysis relates to the level of deprivation of the area in which the community group is based rather than the level of deprivation of the individuals involved in co-ordinating the activities of the community group. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 19% 20% 22% 18% 21% 5 - Least Deprived Most Deprived 25 The analysis presented here covers England only. Each nation has its own index of deprivation, with differing methods of calculation, so it is not possible to provide robust analysis at the UK level. If a UK level deprivation index could be constructed, local socio-economic conditions in each nation would affect the overall deprivation ranking of community groups in England. As 73% of community groups in the master database are located in England, the overall results presented here can be considered indicative of the UK distribution. There was insufficient time in this study to repeat the deprivation analysis separately for each nation of the UK, but this could be explored further in subsequent research. 26 i.e. Approximately 20% of community groups in England that were identified in conducting this study were in operation in each quintile of the IMD across England). 24

25 Further analysis suggests there may however be some variation in the type of activity being undertaken in areas with differing levels of deprivation: The number of community groups solely undertaking projects to raise awareness of opportunities to improve energy efficiency appears to be higher in deprived areas than in areas of low deprivation. For example, 47% of community groups solely undertaking awareness raising projects in England are found in the most deprived and second most deprived quintiles of the IMD with 10% being found in the least deprived quintile. Groups undertaking renewable energy or multi-faceted projects appear to be more evenly dispersed across the quintiles of deprivation, with approximately 20% being found in each quintile of the IMD in England. However, community groups solely promoting energy efficiency measures appear slightly more likely to be found in either the most deprived or least deprived quintile (24% in each quintile i.e. 48% in total). Figure 7 below illustrates the proportion of community groups in England for which project type data were available and located in each quintile of the IMD (again where this could be ascertained from the available data 27 ): Figure 7: Percentage of community groups in England undertaking particular types of energy project located in each quintile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation The reader should note that this analysis relates to the level of deprivation of the area in which the community group is based rather than the level of deprivation of the individuals involved in co-ordinating the activities of the community group. 100% 90% 21% 18% 24% 10% 80% 18% 70% 20% 22% 19% 60% 50% 40% 30% 23% 16% 22% 21% 18% 16% 25% 28% 5 - Least Deprived Most Deprived 20% 10% 20% 17% 24% 19% 0% Renewable energy (n=324) Multiple (n=174) Energy efficiency (n=113) Awareness raising (n=102) 27 i.e. The analysis presented here is based on the subset of the master database for which the relevant data were available. 25

26 Urban/rural distribution of community energy groups Using the postcode data gathered in compiling the master database, together with the ONS postcode directory 28, it has been possible to code the urban / rural status of 3,607 of the 5,000 groups identified in undertaking this study. In total, 59% of these community groups were found to be situated in urban areas with 41% being located in rural areas. Whilst the majority of community groups are found in urban areas, the prevalence of community energy groups located in rural areas is much greater than one would expect. For example, approximately 18% of the population in England reside in rural areas 29. Information on the type of project conducted was only available for 1,088 of the 3,607 groups for which it was possible to identify whether they were located in rural or urban areas. Analysis of the available data (as illustrated in Figure 8 below) indicates the prevalence of community energy activity in rural areas is similar regardless of the type of project being undertaken: Figure 8: Analysis of the percentage of community groups in the UK undertaking particular types of energy project located in urban and rural areas Awareness raising (n=137) 62% 38% Energy efficiency (n=178) 58% 42% Multiple (n=262) 53% 47% Renewable energy (511) 55% 45% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Urban Rural The prevalence of community activity in rural locations is also apparent from other survey work conducted as part of the Community Innovation in Sustainable Energy (CISE) project Output areas are treated as urban if the majority of the population of an output area lives within settlements with a population of 10,000 or more. 29 Based on analysis of data collected in ONS Census Se p13_update_.pdf 30 See A thousand flowers blooming? An examination of community energy in the UK. Gill Seyfang, Jung Jin Park, Adrian Smith. Energy Policy. October

27 Types of energy project being undertaken by community groups From the evidence available from this study, it is known that, since 2008, at least: 190 community groups have considered, commenced or completed projects solely to raise awareness of energy use in their community 250 groups have considered, commenced or completed projects solely to promote specific energy efficiency measures 720 groups have considered, commenced or completed projects solely involving renewable energy technologies 400 community groups have considered, commenced or completed multi-faceted energy projects involving more than one of the elements above. These figures are very conservative minimums, as project type data was not available for 2,500 Green Communities records in the master database 31. The table below summarises the number of community groups considering, commencing or completing particular types of energy project since 2008, drawing on the evidence available from compiling the master database and responses to the online survey. Table 1 Minimum number of community groups considering or undertaking particular types of project since 2008 Number of community groups Type of project Online survey Master database Solely awareness raising Solely energy efficiency Solely renewable energy Multi-faceted projects Other Unknown 16 3,424 Total 177 4, The most recent evaluation of the Green Communities programme suggested that 70% of groups in contact with EST through the Green Communities programme had undertaken or were considering undertaking multi-faceted energy projects (including a combination of awareness raising, energy efficiency and/or renewable energy elements), and 27% had solely undertaken or considered awareness raising projects. The available evidence suggests that the number of community groups undertaking projects involving awareness raising and/or energy efficiency is likely therefore to be significantly higher than the reported minimum figure. 32 Other comprises community groups undertaking or considering projects solely involving demand management, collective switching, or the development of local sustainability plans. 27